Savannah Tech joins with Georgia Southern to offer students degree in logistics

Georgia Southern University President Brooks Keel, front left, and Savannah Technical College President Kathy Love, front right, signed an agreement Wednesday laying the foundation for students to complete an associate degree in logistics management at Savannah Tech and articulate or transfer that coursework to Georgia Southern toward a bachelor’s degree in business administration, logistics and intermodal transportation.

Savannah Tech and Georgia Southern have taken steps to create a career path for anyone in Coastal Georgia interested in getting involved in the expanding field of logistics.

On Wednesday, the presidents of the two schools signed an agreement that will allow students to transfer from Savannah Tech after studying logistics for two years to finish with a four-year degree in Statesboro.

In the fall, Savannah Technical College will offer a new 74-credit hour associate degree in logistics management, which focuses on managing the transportation of resources from one location to another. It will be the first college in the Technical College System of Georgia to do so.

When students transfer to Georgia Southern University, they will be able to finish a bachelor’s degree in business administration, logistics and intermodal transportation.

Savannah Tech President Kathy Love called the agreement a “win-win,” as the credits from her school will be recognized by Georgia Southern.

The partnership is an attempt to educate and further develop Georgia’s logistics workforce. Along with Love, Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel emphasized the need to have trained individuals managing the movement of goods in the state.

“This just further expands our ability to meet the workforce needs of this part of the state,” Keel said. “With the growth of the port in Savannah, there is a growing demand for well-educated and well-trained professionals in the field of logistics.”

“We are extremely pleased that area students now have an additional opportunity to earn a degree in logistics,” he said. “Georgia’s ports and our entire industry rely on candidates with strong backgrounds in transportation and logistics to meet the demands of the nation’s fastest growing port.”

According to Page Siplon, executive director of the Georgia Center of Innovation on Logistics, the new agreement is an important way to supply the growing logistics demand in the region and should serve as a “role model” for similar education programs.

Bill Hubbard, CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, also applauded the new agreement.

“It’s wonderful,” he said. To maintain a strong port in Savannah, “you got to have the labor force to support it.”

Love and Keel indicated the two schools are discussing similar agreements in construction, manufacturing and engineering programs.